Casualties among Iraqi soldiers, civilians in clashes with ISIS in Diyala

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Three members of the Sunni tribal forces were killed and eight others, including civilians, were wounded in northern Diyala province, following an attack by members of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Tuesday evening, officials confirmed to Rudaw.

A Hashd al-Ashayiri base in Qara Tapa’s Kashkul village was attacked by suspected ISIS members on Tuesday, killing four of the militants in the clashes that ensued. This is the third time ISIS has attacked the area within the last week, according to Qara Tapa’s Mayor Wasfi al-Tamimi.

Rudaw has learnt that three members of Hashd al-Ashayiri were killed during the incident, which also resulted in eight people wounded, including both civilians and members of the armed forces.

Hashd al-Ashayiri are Sunni tribal forces under the umbrella of the Iraqi Armed Forces, founded in 2014 to fight in the war against ISIS. Hashd al-Ashayiri fights ISIS threats in areas that are predominantly Sunni.

Additionally, ISIS carried out two other offences in other parts of Diyala province on Tuesday night, targeting brigades of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and the Iraqi army. The attacks were quickly thwarted without any casualties.

In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed to have conducted 24 attacks in Iraq from April 7 to April 13, killing and injuring 31 people.

ISIS on Sunday vowed to seek “revenge” over the killing of its former leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quryishi, and called on supporters to make the most of the war in Ukraine to resume attacks in Europe.

ISIS typically sends messages to followers during Ramadan to garner support.

The group was declared territorially defeated in Iraq and Syria in 2017 and 2019 respectively, but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. The terror group’s remnants are particularly active in parts of northern and central Iraq that are disputed between Erbil and Baghdad. In Syria, the terror group continues to launch deadly attacks from the Syrian desert, which extends from Damascus to the Iraqi border.